Poisoned Heart
by The Warrior of Many Faces
Summary: FRLG AU. He stole a Bulbasaur as part of a grand plot involving Team Rocket. Now Red and Gary must get it back from him. One problem: he's a genius. Another problem: Team Rocket.
1. Chapter 1

_**Poisoned Heart**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, blah blah blah, belongs to Nintendo, blah blah blah, my OCs are mine, blah blah blah, cannot be used without my permission, blah blah blah. Boring boring boring.

* * *

_Pallet Town, 0258 hours, 01/13/2011_

The door wasn't even locked.

How pathetic was that? Kanto's greatest professor, and he didn't even lock his lab doors at night.

Oh well. Made it all the more easy to steal the Bulbasaur.

He didn't let himself be lulled into complacency, though. He knew that no one was awake and watching the door, but any number of alarms and/or video cameras could be inside the lab itself. Time for the EMM.

He pulled out a small metallic ball with a large red button in the middle of its side. It looked rather like a silvery pokeball.

Its real use was quite different, though.

He pressed the button and every electronic device in Pallet Town stopped working. No more alarms or video cameras to worry about. Of course, everyone's heating systems and lights would cut out as well, but he planned to be long gone before anyone noticed. After all, who was awake to notice that the refridgerator was off at 0300 hours? Plus, he only needed them off long enough for a quick in and out. Grab the Bulbasaur and make his escape.

He opened the doors, wary but confident. The lab wasn't all that big. All the better. No need for a prolonged search. Oak had even placed the balls on a table in plain view. His Pokedexes, too, lay in plain sight on another table. How idiotic. Anyone could just walk in and take something. Like he was.

The balls remained closed; all his device had done to them was keep them from releasing their occupants. Now, which one was the Bulbasaur?

Time for another device. Naturally, he had kept them from being affected by the EMM. A simple matter of preprogramming the EMM not to affect anything in his pack. And so his PED, a device that looked rather like the Pokedexes on the other table, worked perfectly. Waving the device near the balls, he watched the screen intently.

Water. That must be the Squirtle, then.

Fire. Charmander. That meant…

Grass and Poison. Bulbasaur.

He grabbed the last ball and walked towards the front door…and stopped.

He had forgotten. How could he have forgotten? The plan required Oak to know who had done the deed, quickly enough that news would get out. Oak would figure it out eventually, but that might take too long. He had to give the professor evidence.

He pulled out some paper and a pen and wrote a note. Leaving it pinned to the space where the Bulbasaur had been, he left the lab.

* * *

_Pallet Town, 0718 hours, 01/13/2011_

"She was right."

Not the usual response to finding that one has been stolen from, but then again, Professor Oak was not exactly usual. Specifically, he wasn't one to lose his temper. He actually endured his grandson's rudeness with not even one word of reprimand, a considerable feat considering who his grandson was and his usual temperament.

At the moment, though, Gary wasn't wasting time being rude. "Who was right, Gramps?"

Sighed, the professor shook his head. "She didn't give me her name, Gary. But she told me. She told me who, and which Pokemon would be stolen, but I had thought that he was above stealing, so I ignored her…" He handed the note to Gary, who scanned it quickly, reading it out loud to himself.

"'Get a better security system, professor. It was far too easy to steal this Bulbasaur. At least lock the doors.

-Vincent Mark Smith'"

Gary looked up. "Isn't that the kid next door to the lab? The one who was adopted from Fushcia?"

"Yes," Oak agreed, staring morosely at the empty space where his Bulbasaur had once been. "I would never have imagined him doing something like this…such a well-behaved young man." He came to a decision. "Gary, find Red and bring him here. You two can have my remaining Pokemon. Not that you wouldn't have gotten them anyway, but…" He trailed off, apparently lost in thought. Gary had to poke him to bring him back on topic.

"Sorry. I'll give you a device that can track the Pokeball in question. Find Vincent. Get the Bulbasaur back safely, and if possible, Vincent as well. Perhaps there is a perfectly reasonable excuse for this…"

"Hey, Gramps! Was this here before?"

On the note, under Vincent's signature, were three words in florid purple ink:

_**I told you.**_

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 0725 hours, 01/13/2011_

After stealing some Pokeballs and other supplies from the Viridian City Pokemart, he had fled into the forest. He had then found a Beedrill hive and, using some honey, bribed them to guard him while he was in the forest. Once he knew that he was safe, he had napped until 0720 hours. Not much sleep, but he'd survive. For now, he just needed to let any pursuit go on ahead. They'd assume that he'd run as far as possible, so he'd do the opposite. He'd hide until his pursuit was a little less heated. After all, it wasn't as if he had an appointment to be anywhere.

He did have one time-sensitive issue to deal with, however. He was one of the few trainers that knew that individual Pokeballs could be traced to their owner. Which meant that as long as he kept Bulbasaur in this particular ball, his location might as well be printed in neon letters on every billboard in every city in the world.

With that in mind, he opened the Pokeball and released the creature that he had broken the law to get.

The Bulbasaur looked around, obviously confused at the different surroundings. Still, he looked comfortable here. If he were to lie down and go to sleep, he'd just be another plant in a forest full of them. Bulbasaur had lived here long ago, before poaching had driven their numbers to practically zero. Some idiot had spread a rumor that their bulbs had magical healing powers and suddenly the previously-superior Bulbasaur species had a predator. They bred so slowly that the loss of their babies had taken a great toll on them. He now had one of the few Bulbasaur left in the land.

"Over here," he said to the creature, shaking himself out of his thoughts. "I have something for you to wear." And he pulled out a collar with a muted green light on the front from his pack.

* * *

The Bulbasaur looked his new trainer over critically. Pale skin: the human didn't get much sun, apparently. Dark hair: contrasted with the skin. Somewhere between adult and youngling, as he had expected. Serious expression on his face: good, very promising. If he had been assigned to one of those idiots he had seen outside the window, laughing about stupid things, he would have strangled Oak first chance he got for giving him to a moron. This one looked like he meant business.

His clothes: a jumpsuit in various shades of green and brown, very good for camoflauge here in the forest. Very sensible, thought the Bulbasaur. He didn't know what the collar was for, but Oak, unintelligent though he may be (He could be so dense! The Venusaur OldFlowers were revered for wisdom; human Oldflowers just got senile), he wouldn't give a Pokemon to a bad trainer. So he loped over to the trainer without any hesitation, trusting Oak to know what he was doing and trusting the trainer not to do anything harmful.

As the human tried to fasten the collar onto Bulbasaur, he didn't move at all, cooperating with the human. There must be a good reason for the collar, he was sure, even if he didn't know what the reason was. Why resist? That would just make it take longer to find out what the purpose was.

Finally, the collar was on. The human leaned back. "Okay," he said, "time to try this out. Bulbasaur, say something. Anything at all."

"Why?"

Bulbasaur was the only one surprised when the collar said "Why?" in the Human dialect. The human smiled triumphantly. "So it works. I thought it would, but I didn't know for sure until now. Thank you, Bulbasaur. Now, if you would be willing to do me a favor…"

Now Bulbasaur was a little wary. "What is it?"

"Don't run off immediately when I break this."

"Break wha-?" Bulbasaur was cut off by the human smashing his Pokeball with a rock, shattering it into pieces.

"There," he said. "Now they can't track it. And now," he turned to Bulbasaur, "time for you to hear your options."

"The way I see it, now that you're no longer bound to the ball, you have three choices. Choice number one: you could stay here in the forest. It's where you would be living if humans hadn't messed things up for you, so you'd be able to survive here."

Still surprised from the demolition of the ball, Bulbasaur didn't comment.

"Alright then, choice number two is go back to Oak's lab."

Here Bulbasaur shook his head adamantly. "No way. I go back to Oak's lab, I may get stuck being Gary's Pokemon. Or worse, no one's Pokemon. I'd be sitting around all day, bored out of my wits. No thank you!"

Not bothering to conceal his amused grin, the human went on. "I guess number two is out of the question then. Choice number three: stay here with me."

"Why wouldn't I stay with you? Adventure, travel, battle, companions, what more could I ask for?" Bulbasaur replied.

"A trainer that isn't a wanted thief," he responded. "I stole you from Oak's lab. It didn't seem fair that one of you stay in the lab while the other two travel. So I chose you." He stood and began pacing. "I won't deny it, I'd love to have you with me. But it'd be a dangerous life. We'd be in hiding, fighting the law all the time, never able to even stop by a Pokemon Center for a quick healing. You might get arrested. Unless you're recognized, in which case it's Oak's lab again."

"Also, I'm not a harsh taskmaster, but I am an exacting one. I prefer to have everything planned in advance, so you'll have to know what I want and do what I want when I ask you to do it. Even if it makes no sense at the time. I won't tolerate disobedience. Initiative will be limited, but you'll still have some. Mostly when I'm getting a sense of the opponent's weaknesses."

"So I won't compel you. It's your choice." He set a Pokeball down on the ground. "If you're interested, let yourself in. Just push the button. If not, please wait here and I'll remove the collar before you go. In the meantime, I want to make this same pitch to some of the Weedle in here. If you accept, you may have to deal with a Beedrill for a companion eventually." With that, he stood and left, leaving Bulbasaur to stare at the Pokeball and decide.

It was an easy choice, really. He didn't know how to survive in the wild, even here in a low-level area. Like it or not, he needed a human, and this human, though a thief, had gone to great pains to give him the facts and let him decide. He respected that.

And so he let himself into the ball.

* * *

He grinned when he saw that the ball was occupied. It wasn't hard to tell; the white part glowed softly when the ball had caught something. So it had worked. He had expected that, but certainty never came until after the fact. That, plus the fact that he had gotten himself a Weedle as well, had put him in good spirits.

He picked up the ball and let out both Bulbasaur and Weedle.

"I see that you accepted, Bulbasaur. I thank you for that," he said as he crouched to fasten another collar on Weedle (female, he noted). Weedle was less cooperative than Bulbasaur at this. Not that she was resisting, she just had a lot of energy and didn't want to hold still.

Bulbasaur scoffed. "Easy choice. Lab or you. You win, paws down. Especially since you seem surprisingly considerate and intelligent."

"To Pokemon, perhaps. To humans, not so much. After all, I just stole from Oak," the young thief replied as he finally got the collar on. "There, I can understand you now, Weedle."

"The name's Bloitch, thank you very much!" The Weedle seemed less surprised than Bulbasaur had been, but then again, she had witnessed Bulbasaur's collar in action.

The teen blinked. "I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised that you name yourselves." Looking at Bulbasaur, he asked, "You have one too, I gather?"

"Bulbasaur's fine. I don't think humans can pronounce my name," said Bulbasaur.

"What's yours? Can't really call you "Human", can we?" Bloitch asked enthusiastically.

"Hah! Suppose you're right." He stood, stretched, and told his companions, "Call me Vin."

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 1042 hours, 01/13/2011_

"Hello?"

"This is Red, Professor."

"Ah, Red! Any luck?"

Red shook his head, then remembered that he was on the phone. "Bad news, Professor. We lost the signal. However, we're fairly sure he's still in Viridian Forest. I'm blocking the Pewter City exit, Gary's covering the Viridian City exit in case he doubles back, and the gate guard tells me that no one's been through here today. One way or another, we'll catch him."

"Splendid! Just one thing…try not to get anyone seriously hurt if it comes to battle."

Red chuckled. "You know me, Professor, so you know that's not my style. Gary's, maybe, but not mine."

Oak chuckled, thinking that Red was joking. "Well, I won't keep you. Make sure you call me when you catch him." With that, he hung up.

Red hung up as well. "_If_ we catch him," he said to himself. After all, the thief had traveled a day's journey in less than twelve hours and managed to break the link on the Pokeball's tracking device. If he was smart enough to do that, would one brand-new trainer be able to stop him from leaving?

He had to try, though. He had to get the Bulbasaur back.

Whatever it took.

**You have been reading:**

**Stage One: Outwitting and Outdistancing Oak**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Poisoned Heart**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, blah blah blah, belongs to Nintendo, blah blah blah, my OCs are mine, blah blah blah, cannot be used without my permission, blah blah blah. Boring boring boring.

Notes: I have gone back and made some changes to the first chapter. First, a change in how one of Vin's devices work, thanks to Farla's review (abrasive she may be, but unobservant she is not. She had a few points as to what could use some changes), a short dialogue on how Pokemon battles aren't like dogfights (got the idea from a friend of mine whose current screenname escapes me; he's had a few since I've known him), and actual line breaks instead of (Line Divider), thanks to me.

Warning: So that there is no ambiguity about my feelings, I'm announcing this. Anyone who swears in a review from here on out will be ignored. Yes, I'm looking at you, Farla.

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 1131 hours, 01/13/2011_

"Wait…could we go over the plan again?"

Bloitch's new trainer laughed, obviously amused. Good. He had a sense of humor. Not like Bulbasaur, who was steadily whacking his head against a tree.

She supposed she should do something about that situation. "Yeesh, I was kidding. Don't give yourself brain damage on my account. I remember the plan. We join Team Rocket and beat people up. Simple."

Bulbasaur glared at her. "You know it's not that simple, Bloitch."

"Yes! I do! It was a joke!" She rolled her eyes. "Lighten up a bit, willya? Sheesh…"

"This is serious business! If they catch us…"

"Yeah yeah, arrest is the least that could happen, we've been over this! But what's life without risk?"

"Safe," he replied, without a hint of sarcasm.

She rolled her eyes again. "You agreed to the plan! Besides, it's no _fun_ being safe!"

"You want to argue a bit louder?" Vin inquired pleasantly. "I'm not sure they can hear you in Unova."

"Uno-wha?"

Bulbasaur seemed similarly perplexed, but said nothing, not wanting to admit it. Dummy. If you don't know something but say nothing about it, how are you supposed to learn it?

"Unova. A nation, very far away, quite industrialized. Also known as Isshu to some."

She snickered. "'Isshu'. Ha! That's funny."

Grinning, Vin continued. "Point being, we should move. You guys argue loudly. I'm fairly sure that if someone's here, they heard us…Isn't that right, whoever's hiding in the Rattata nest?"

"What? There's someone watching us?" she wondered silently. She got her answer when a girl emerged from a Rattata nest. Funny. She hadn't noticed the nest before. Anyway, the girl. Dirty, scuffy, wearing one of those outfits that she thought humans called a "shurt" and "skurt". Long hair, down to her waist. Somehow, her hair had no dirt in it. Weird. She looked like she was a nymph, about the same age as Vin.

"How'd you know I was there?" she asked quietly.

Vin smirked. "I didn't. That was the obvious hiding place, and thus the place I mentioned. If someone was here, I'd know. If not, oh well." He looked her over. "Now, what are you doing, spying on me?"

Shrugging, the girl answered, "You're important. I have no clue why, but you're going to change history. Maybe something to do with Team Rocket. And I know that I have to help keep you safe. Otherwise, something bad will happen…"

Bloitch was rather confused. And so, in the hopes of finding out more, she asked. "Um…what the heck are you talking about, lady?"

And again, Bulbasaur got that perplexed-yet-stubborn look on his face. Even in her confusion, Bloitch took the time to shoot him a withering look.

Even Vin was a little uncertain. "I'm not sure I understand…"

"Neither do I," said the girl. She groaned, obviously annoyed. "Sometimes I get specifics, but no one believes me until it's too late, or I get vague things that make no sense! Why me?"

"Why you…what?" Apparently, Vin was a little slow to react to unexpected stuff. Then again, Bloitch wasn't being especially helpful in figuring out this weird girl, either. What _was_ she talking about?

"Oh. I see…" mumbled Bulbasaur.

"Care to enlighten the rest of us, then?" Vin requested.

"She's a seer."

* * *

"I'm a what?" the girl asked, looking about as befuddled as Vin felt.

"A seer. You see what has been, what is now, what is to come," explained Bulbasaur. "Before Oak's lab, I remember we had a seer. One of our OldFlowers."

"OldFlowers?" she queried, still looking confused. It was funny, Vin thought, that she was more surprised by the explanation than the giver of it. Then again, she _had_ been watching them for a while. Her surprise was, perhaps, over and done with.

Bulbasaur sighed in a long-suffering way. "Our Elders, the Ones Who Share Their Wisdom. For you humans, people like Professor Oak. If I may continue?"

"No one's stoppin' ya!" Bloitch chimed in impertinently.

Vin had to work to conceal his grin. Every time Vin smiled or laughed, Bulbasaur seemed to get grumpier. Better to conceal his emotions than to lose his Bulbasaur's allegiance. He might have to do something about this, though. The two of them might make enemies of each other eventually at the rate they were going.

Glaring at the Weedle, Bulbasaur continued, "She warned us that our downfall was coming. But she didn't know from what, and so when the humans began to attack, we were unprepared. In any case, she was a seer."

"It occurs to me…Bulbasaur, I thought you were young when you were taken…?" Vin queried.

"We have better memories than you do. It's ridiculous how you can't even remember the first three years of your lives," said Bulbasaur.

The girl finally spoke up. "So…you're saying that I can see the future…but I already knew that! I wanted to know _why_ I see the future!"

Here, Bulbasaur had no answers. "Sorry. All I know is that there has never been a male seer. They were always female."

His brain was starting to work again. "Perhaps it's a recessive trait carried only on the Y gene," theorized Vin. When Bloitch and Bulbasaur gave him blank looks, he rapidly said, "Never mind. Besides, this is all peripheral. We need to figure out what to do with the girl." He folded his arms and stared at her, irrationally hoping that a solution would magically write itself on her forehead. Seeing that he had no such luck, he continued, "She knows we plan to join Team Rocket, so we can't let her go and alert the authorities. At the same time, if we take her with us, she might phone the authorities after using us to find the Team Rocket base."

"I could sting her to death!" offered Bloitch. At this, the girl blanched. She was scared, but not running. Good. People like that tended to huddle in a corner during dangerous events, hoping to remain unnoticed. If she had been the sort that yelled incoherently at a volume that threatened the overall health of human eardrums in the vicinity, unwanted attention might have been drawn to them, complicating matters much further than they currently were. Instead, she looked like she wanted to be invisible. Perfect.

"It may come to that, Bloitch, but murderers are pursued more fiercely than mere thieves. I'd rather not have that happen," Vin told his Weedle.

At this, the girl laughed nervously and said, in a sarcastic-yet-frightened tone, "Great, my life hinges on whether or not you can find a way to kill me without it being traced back to you."

Bloitch grinned at this, obviously enjoying the girl's discomfort. Was it sadism in her face? Or was the Weedle just teasing? Vin couldn't tell. He got the feeling he'd have to figure it out soon.

Interjecting, Bulbasaur said, "She is a seer, though. And remember what she said about Vin being important? But she didn't know-."

"Shut up, Bulbasaur, you're saying too much!" snapped Bloitch. "Weren't _you_ the cautious freak just ten minutes ago? How come _I_ have to be the cautious freak now?"

"But she's a seer!" protested Bulbasaur, as if that was the only thing that mattered. Interesting. Vin made a mental note to find out just what Bulbasaur's relationship with that seer had been.

"So she says. It could just be a pack of lies!" Bloitch argued back.

Fuming, Bulbasaur retorted, "She didn't know her gift!"

"Again, so she says!"

"Could the two of you shut up for a moment, please?" cried the girl, clutching her head. "Bad enough that I might be killed, I'd rather not be killed with a headache!"

"Besides," added Vin, "Arguing was what caused this problem to begin with."

Reluctantly, the two Pokemon ceased their argument, both glaring daggers at the other. Now Vin could concentrate, and so he did, after committing to himself to figure out how to ease the tension in his team. What to do with the girl?

Finally, reluctantly, he made his decision. "She has to come with us."

"WHAT?"

Vin sighed. He had anticipated this response from Bloitch, but that didn't mean that he liked it. "Look, Bloitch, at least this way we can keep an eye on her. Tie her up at night with String Shot. Or just knock her out, whatever. If she goes, we're toast. This way, we can ditch her when we're close enough to the hideout for it not to matter if the police know in advance, but far enough away that she can't leak the location."

"Grrn…well, fine, but know this, girlie!" Bloitch whirled on the girl. "I'm watching you! Whatever your game is, I'm not falling for it!"

Bulbasaur, who had been grinning smugly until then, scowled at Bloitch once more. "You're yelling at the seer. You should never yell at the seer."

"Why? Will she 'foresee' a bad future for me? Hah! Not likely!"

"Again with the arguing, guys?" sighed Vin. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

Bloitch scowled as they walked. The "seer" was making a nuisance of herself by thanking Vin for sparing her life every three seconds.

"We're trying to be stealthy here, you idiot!" she finally hissed at the seer.

Shaking his head, Bulbasaur started with that condescending tone again. "You don't call the seer an idiot."

Bloitch would have retaliated, but Vin turned back and held up two Pokeballs. The threat was clear. Both Pokemon shut up. Unfortunately, there was no such cure for the girl.

Finally, even Vin lost his temper somewhat. "Will you shut it! We're trying to lose our pursuers! I didn't do it as a favor to you, I'm just trying to survive. If you don't shut up, maybe it'll be more productive to have you dead!"

She didn't say a word for the next three hours. Blotch grinned, both at the girl's long-awaited rebuff and at Bulbasaur's discomfited scowl.

Eventually, they had weaved their way through enough of the forest for Vin to declare that there was no one following them, aside from the girl, anyway.

"Now. After a short rest, we need to get some training done," declared Vin. "We need to establish the procedures and I need to know what you can do."

She grinned once more. "Great! When do we start?" Bulbasaur was likewise energetic, but the girl seemed perfectly happy to just slump against a tree. She obviously wasn't all that fit, otherwise she would have had more stamina.

Noting his Pokemon's energy levels, Vin decided, "Alright, we'll start now. First step. Bloitch, could you web up her ears and eyes for me?"

"What?" growled Bulbasaur.

Vin raised his hands in frustration. "Look, Bulbasaur, just because she's a seer doesn't mean that _we _can trust her! I promise, they'll come off after training."

It took five minutes for Vin to get Bulbasaur to acquiese to the web treatment, by which time Bloitch had not only covered the girl's eyes and ears, she had tied the girl to the tree with at least seven strings.

"Bloitch!"

"What?" she answered the Grass Pokemon with false innocence.

"Bloitch, don't do that again. Bulbasaur, calm down. Discharge your aggressions in training." Despite his business-like tone, he grinned. "First exercise, you two spar against each other. Show me your moves!"

And somewhere, a falcon screeched, startling the whole group, save the hogtied girl.

After establishing that it was just a falcon, Vin continued, "You two will spar for two minutes. Use all of your tricks and abilities. I can't train you unless I know what you can do. Get in position."

For once, Bulbasaur was grinning as fiercely as Bloitch. He was looking forward to the fight. So was she. Now she could put that sanctimonious hypocrite in his place!

"Begin," said Vin quietly.

And Bloitch charged at her partner, ready and willing to inflict some pain on him…

**You have been reading:**

**Stage Two: Training and Dealing with the Unexpected**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Poisoned Heart**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, blah blah blah, belongs to Nintendo, blah blah blah, my OCs are mine, blah blah blah, cannot be used without my permission, blah blah blah. Boring boring boring.

Hey, you people reading this. Look at the review page, at TailsisReal's review. You see what it has? A frank discussion of what he did and did not like about my story. Now, I would like to request that your reviews be like his in that you tell me of the good, the bad, and the ugly, not just the good OR the bad OR the ugly. Comprende?

Also, something's being changed in the first chapter concerning the note. It changes things a bit, so you'll want to check it out.

Oh yes, and also, minor celebration for a record broken. This is the first time I've published a third chapter in a fic! Hooray!

…that sounded kinda pathetic, didn't it? Oh, well. On to the story, then!

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 1713 hours, 01/13/2011_

"Ow. Owowowow. I haven't hurt this much since a trained Rattata thought my tail was a chew toy," complained Bloitch from Vin's arms.

Grinning smugly, Bulbasaur replied, "That's what you get for charging in without a plan. Totally easy to beat you."

Trying to sooth Bloitch's injured pride and prevent yet another argument, Vin interjected, "Well, at least you evolved, Bloitch."

It was the wrong thing to say. "Yeah, _that_ makes me feel better," she replied bitterly. "Now how am I supposed to attack anyone? Kakuna are so freaking slow that it'll take a year for me to move an inch."

Bulbasaur didn't bother to disguise his amusement or his laughter.

"_Enough_, Bulbasaur." Sighing, he told Bloitch, "Well, until you get enough experience to evolve, you're stuck with this form. You'll have to run interference like we practiced until then."

"Sure. Whatever." She obviously wasn't comforted at all. Oh, well. She'd feel better when she evolved, Vin supposed.

"Euch," muttered the girl. "Did she have to do that much webbing? I feel like I have every leaf in the forest attached to either my clothes or my face."

"Hah!" grinned Bloitch. This helped a little. "You almost do!"

"That's an exaggeration, Bloitch," Bulbasaur said crossly as he inspected her. "Sorry that I didn't notice before, Most Esteemed Seer. Here, let me get some of those…" He stretched out a vine and began gingerly plucking the leaves off of the girl. Unfortunately, his progress was somewhat hampered by the fact that both of them were moving, so what he ended up doing was mostly moving the leaves, only occasionally getting any off, and constantly apologizing for his clumsiness. This proved to be just the pick-me-up Bloitch needed. She was openly cackling at Bulbasaur's constant mishaps, not stopping even when Bulbasaur took a quick break to smack the bug on the head with a vine.

Shaking his head, Vin ignored them. At least this wasn't quite as hostile as they had been towards each other before. Apparently a few times beating each other up, with only a few breaks for Potions, was enough to take out a lot of the venom from their relationship. Either that or they were tired. Just because Potions restored their energy field didn't mean that they received a fresh burst of energy. Either way, they were easier to deal with at the moment.

"Enough of the Most Esteemed Seer thing, Bulbasaur," the girl was saying. "I have a name, I'd like you to use it. My name is-."

"Ssh!" Vin hissed. He halted and signaled the others to do the same.

The good news was, they were at the checkpoint building that marked the end of the forest. The bad news was, Red was standing there, talking on the phone.

"-how could he do that to anyone? Let alone his own father?" Red was saying.

Vin's jaw tightened. So, Oak had contacted someone from Fuschia and gotten the story. Now he was passing it on to Red. This had been the plan, of course, to get himself publicized, that was the point of the note. It was a delicate balance: get the word out about himself without leaking enough to get himself caught. But having his private life disected by this boy…it made him madder than he had thought it would.

Enough. Red wouldn't move, he knew that. Which meant that he'd have to wait until Red slept and sneak past him. That would be the best way to get past him, anyway. Battling him was in no way a sure thing, especially if he had the Charmander. Sure, he had trained them with Charmander in mind, but Red had had as much time to train as Vin had. One good Ember and either of his Pokemon would very likely be defeated. And who knows what else he may have caught? He wasn't too worried about the bugs or the Rattata, but if Red had caught a Spearow or a Pidgey, he was surely too strong for Vin at the moment. Vin didn't regret his Pokemon choices, though. Once he had a Zubat, then he wouldn't need or use a bird, and that would be rather cruel, to catch a Pokemon and let it languish away in a ball, or releasing it for no good reason. No, catching a Pokemon was like having a baby: you had to be prepared to be its protector for the rest of your days.

In any event, he would avoid battling Red unless there was no choice. He'd exercise patience. He'd camp in the forest and wait for Red's guard to drop. He had time on his side. His plan had no deadline, after all.

Signaling the rest of the party to fall back, Vin did so as well, watching Red's face all the while.

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 2038 hours, 01/13/2011_

It was about 8:40 when the Alakazam appeared.

"What took you so long?" the "seer" inquired. "Everyone save Bloitch was asleep an hour ago."

The Alakazam projected a calm, unruffled voice into the girl's mind. _I had to wait until the Kakuna was tired enough for me to use Hypnosis without being seen. Even for me, that is not an easy feat._

Nodding to show she understood, she dropped the subject in favor of the real business at hand. "What's the password?"

_Know yourself and know your foe, the outcome of battles you will know._

It was the correct password. "Good. You're authentic."

_What of the boy?_

Staring at nothing, the girl mused, "Well, I haven't seen him battle or train, but…his strategic skills can be seen in his plan. He's smart, for a sixteen-year-old. It'll be easier to explain if you read my mind."

The psychic Pokemon, having permission to inspect her mind, did so quickly, efficiently…and reeled back, stunned.

"It's audacious, isn't it?" she smirked, amused at the Alakazam's reaction. "And brilliant. And insane. This one is something special."

_What of my mistress? How does Cerebra fit in with this plan?_ The creature's voice, so calm before, now sounded different somehow. Panicked wasn't the right word. Neither was nervous. Surprised, maybe? No, that wasn't it, either. Maybe a combination of them all.

"She'll be fine," the girl said dismissively, "so long as she doesn't oppose him…or if she wipes him out before he gets too strong. Personally…" she paused, choosing her words carefully. "I like him. I never liked the Earthlord as our leader. You know why I joined the Rockets. Not because I liked the Earthlord's ideals. I joined to make my father proud of me. To excell in the ranks. To become strong like my father. The Earthlord is too contemptuous of Pokemon rights. But this one…he cares. He cares about Pokemon. He doesn't seem to like humans much, but I'll be frank with you, knowing his background, he has every right. Also knowing that he doesn't intend to take it out on the Rocket grunts…I'm impressed, I'll admit it. I think that Cerebra should support him."

_Your opinion is noted. I have a different opinion. _Now the psychic voice was calm once more.

"That's fine. You're entitled to your opinion. Cerebra is also entitled to her own opinion. Just…if she decides to get rid of him…warn me first, okay? I need to know so that I can be prepared for it. I'll need to…" After a pause, she continued, "I'll need to have a plan to get back to Fuschia without alerting the authorities."

The psychic chuckled. _Somehow, I don't think that's why you want to know. You'd want to warn him, wouldn't you?_

She didn't blush, but it was a close thing. "No! It's just that if he's gone, the police will want to question me. I'll need a way out."

_Somehow, I get the feeling that you're telling me a truth while still being false, _laughed the voice. _No matter. I will be sure to warn you. Even if you warn him, there will be no escape from Cerebra._

"Thanks," she said, nodding in appreciation. She knew that. Cerebra was the most powerful psychic in Kanto. There was no hiding from her if you had drawn her attention. "Anyway, I think that Cerebra should support the plan. Maybe contact Flora and Toxo and enlist their support as well. I don't think that Electro, Crya, or Spectra will go along with it. They firmly support the Earthlord. And if Cerebra can enlist our agents in the other regions as well, so much the better."

_Noted. Anything else?_

"Yeah." Her grin wasn't visible in the night, but she knew that the Alakazam would pick it up anyway. "Could you nudge the Kakuna's mind, get her to not be quite so paranoid about me? As you can see, she's tied my sleeping bag so securely to the ground that I'm not sure I'll be able to get out in the morning."

_Sorry, nothing I can do about that. You'll survive, I'm sure._

"Oh, well. Worth a shot. Go report to Cerebra."

Just before teleporting away, the Alakazam said one last thing to the girl.

_Be careful of this boy, Toxa. I'm not sure you're objective anymore._

And after waking the Kakuna and wiping her memory of falling asleep, the Alakazam vanished, leaving nothing but a memory in the girl's mind as proof that he had been there.

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 0018 hours, 01/14/2011_

"Wake up!"

The girl code-named Toxa woke up, startled at the whispered command.

"Red's asleep," Vin whispered. "Time to go."

"Your Kakuna was overzealous when she bound me. I can't get out," she pointed out wryly, all traces of sleep gone from her face. She had had later nights than this.

Grimacing, Vin went to wake his Kakuna. Toxa couldn't help but notice that even without an Alakazam to put Bloitch to sleep, the bug made a lousy guard. Too prone to sleeping.

"Bloitch, we need to sneak past Red," he was whispering. "Use Poison Sting and cut the string off of the girl."

"Couldn't we just leave her behind?" she grumbled sleepily. After a sharp look from Vin, she reluctantly began trudging over to the girl, grumbling all the while.

"…"

"…"

To his credit, Vin didn't take long to realize that Bloitch wouldn't be able to get there very quickly. Picking her up, he set the cocoon down as close to the girl, and more importantly, the string, as possible. The bug sliced open the string, allowing Toxa to clamber out of her sleeping bag.

"Grab the bag and let's go," Vin whispered urgently. Toxa obeyed swiftly. She knew what Vin was up to. Sneak past in the dead of night. Maybe eliminate Red while he slept. Basic espionage tactics. Speed was required. Her job description didn't say to help him, but neither was she to hinder him. And she liked him. He was a better man than she normally encountered, aside from her father. So she would quietly assist him and hope that he didn't prove too dangerous for "Cerebra" to keep alive.

* * *

_Viridian Forest, 0032 hours, 01/14/2011_

Red was snoring softly when they arrived.

Or so he wanted them to think.

After all, there was a good chance that Vin would try to sneak past him when he slept. So he wouldn't sleep. He'd just pretend to and wait for an opportunity.

He hadn't expected results this soon, though. Through half-closed eyes, he saw a boy and a girl approach the guard station quietly. The boy was probably Vin. Who else would be here this late at night? Or early in the morning. Whatever. The girl was probably an ally. An accomplice. This might be trouble if she had Pokemon. All Red had was Cheryl. She was strong, true, but she'd be outnumbered.

Still, he had to try.

Grabbing his Pokeball, he sprang up, releasing Cheryl at the same time. "That's far enough, Vin!"

Vin turned to face Red. "So. You're more disciplined than I thought you'd be. I knew you'd try to stay up while pretendiong to sleep. I didn't know that you'd successfully pull it off. I'm impressed."

"Save your compliments and give the Bulbasaur back," Red growled.

"No." With that, two Pokeballs were opened, revealing a Kakuna and the Bulbasaur. Both Red and Cheryl winced from the sudden burst of light, allowing Vin to call out orders before Red.

"Bloitch, use the Stringamablob strategy! Bulbasaur, Draining Pain!"

The Kakuna began firing blobs of String Shot at Cheryl while Bulbasaur fired something off. Only when it hit Cheryl did Red realize that it was a Leech Seed. Red gritted his teeth. In the seconds that Red was distracted, Vin had put them on a time schedule. Red couldn't afford a long, drawn-out battle, which Red suspected that Vin intended to give him. Not only that, but Cheryl's physical movements were restricted now. She wouldn't be able to dodge as well.

"Cheryl, Ember! Focus on the Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur had been running at Cheryl, probably to use Tackle, and as such couldn't dodge…

…and then a blob of String Shot intercepted the Ember, wasting much of the flame.

"Rrgh," Red growled. "Keep trying, Cheryl!"

And she did. But blobs kept blocking the attacks, leaving only sparks to hit Bulbasaur. And then Bulbasaur rammed Cheryl, knocking her over and sending yet another Ember awry. Luckily for the forest, it hit the guard station, heating metal instead of burning wood.

Bulbasaur leaped away from the flaming lizard, only to run at her again.

But this time, they were ready.

"Turn your back!"

Cheryl turned her back to Bulbasaur as instructed, forcing Bulbasaur to veer away to avoid the tail flame.

"Now, Ember on the Kakuna!"

There, Red was disappointed, though. Yet another blob consumed the flame attack. And this gave Bulbasaur enough time to ram Cheryl from a different angle, sending her sprawling.

This time, Cheryl didn't get up. She was losing health quickly, thanks to the Leech Seed. The Tackles hadn't helped.

Bulbasaur was charging her again. But…

"Ember, now!"

Red had timed his command so that Bulbasaur was too close for anything to block the attack. Crying in surprised pain, the Bulbasaur ceased his charge. Now he looked about as tired as Cheryl. Good.

"Now, Scratch while he's close!"

But Bulbasaur reared back, getting only a nick from the attack.

The previously silent Vin now called out, "Bulbasaur, switch to Power Trip!"

Bulbasaur began retreating, turning his back to Cheryl.

"Mistake," grinned Red. "Ember!"

And yet another blob blocked it while Bulbasaur put a safe distance between himself and Cheryl.

"Gah!" Red exclaimed, frustrated. "Charge at Kakuna, firing Embers on the way!"

"Now, Bulbasaur."

And a powerful vine rammed into Cheryl's legs from behind, forcing the first Ember to fire up, above the intended target. The Ember hit a tree and leaves started burning.

And the buzzing started.

Buzzing?

Vin was smiling grimly. "Bloitch, please explain to your evolved compatriots that the flaming lizard and his trainer over there were responsible for burning their nest."

_Oh._

"Cheryl, quick, shut up that Kakuna!" Cheryl spewed another Ember, and this one finally hit. The Kakuna fell.

That was a mistake.

Now the Beedrill were _really_ mad.

And Beedrill swarms sting what makes them mad.

As Vin and his party calmly strolled into the guard station, the bugs reached Red. And he began to scream in pain…

**You have been reading:**

**Stage Three: Seeing Red**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Poisoned Heart**_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, blah blah blah, belongs to Nintendo, blah blah blah, my OCs are mine, blah blah blah, cannot be used without my permission, blah blah blah. Boring boring boring.

Pewter City, 0040 hours, 01/14/2011

"Wake up."

The guard mumbled sleepily, not opening his eyes.

"Wake up!"

"Not right now…zzz…"

A vine snapped next to his ear, giving off a loud cracking noise.

"Yah! I'm awake, I'm awa-," he cut himself off as he realized that two teenagers, a boy and a girl, had woken him.

"What's the big idea?" the guard demanded. "Do you realize what time it is?"

"0040 hours and fifty-three seconds, but that's not important," the boy said impatiently. "What is important is that there's a kid getting stung by a Beedrill swarm on the Viridian side of the building. You might be able to save his life if you move quickly."

The guard bolted towards the door to the Viridian Forest, releasing several Pidgey as he did. It wouldn't be until several hours later, when the boy he had saved was recovering in a hospital bed, that the guard would wonder why that boy's face seemed familiar…

"Pathetic," Vin snorted. "Despite my name and face being broadcasted all over Pewter City, he doesn't even recognize me."

"How do you know that your face is-?"

Vin cut the so-called seer off. "Look at the TV over there."

Vin himself didn't look, but he assumed that she had seen his face prominently displayed on a late-night news show, as she didn't say more on the subject.

They were walking east, towards the Mt. Moon exit of Pewter City. Vin was hoping that the darkness would make them look like normal teenagers on their way home from a late-night party, rather than a thief and the annoying girl following the thief around. Having Bulbasaur in his ball helped. It would have enhanced the disguise if one of them had been staggering as if drunk, but that charade might have given the girl a prime opportunity to steal something from him, stab him in the back, or whatever.

He didn't trust her, really. Mysterious girl claiming precognitive powers? Right where he was? No, something else was at work here. The question was what.

Sensing sudden movement off to the side, Vin leapt to the left just in time to avoid a lunge from a crazed-looking man.

"Are you the Doctor?" the man demanded loudly.

"…what?" Vin was puzzled.

"The Doctor! Are you him?"

"I'm not a Doctor in any sense of the word…"

The man calmed down minutely after that. "Good. He's not here yet. He will come eventually, and, as it always does, death and destruction and doom will follow him. DOOM!" he shouted, startling the girl into jumping away from him.

"He's crazy!" she exclaimed nervously.

"You only think that, yes yes, but he will come. With his big blue box, he will come, and death will follow! Yes, yes, death! Death follows him and that box of his! THE BOX!"

Vin edged away from the man and walked away, gesturing to the girl to follow. The man didn't seem to notice; he scurried into an alley, muttering to himself and occasionally shouting "DESTRUCTION!"

"Well," Vin finally said after they had left him behind, "that was peculiar."

"Tell me about it," grumbled the girl.

Pewter City, 0116 hours, 01/14/2011

Brock was there, waiting for him, when they arrived at the gate.

He allowed himself a small grin as he saw Vin's face. It was only a flicker of dismay, but Brock caught it. "Weren't expecting me to be here, were you?" he called in a somewhat smug tone.

"It wasn't unexpected, but neither was it a certainty," he replied, grasping a Pokeball. "Now, I know of you, Brock. You have a reputation for fairness. So, I propose a deal."

This was a bit of a surprise. "What's your angle, Vin? I know of you as well. You always have an angle. And it's never a good one."

Vin's face was unmoved as he replied. "My angle is simple. I win this battle with what I have, I get a trip to the Pokemon Center to revive my Pokemon and a guarantee of safety during this visit to Pewter. My Kakuna was knocked out and my Bulbasaur is weakened."

Surprisingly modest requests. "And if I win?"

"The Bulbasaur is healed and is returned to Oak's lab, under the condition that Bulbasaur gets a friendly trainer with which to travel. I won't agree to be incarcerated and I'm keeping my Kakuna," he stated.

Interesting. Very interesting. Brock had been prepared to think of Vin as heartless, cruel, emotionless. But here, despite Vin's face of stone, he was showing compassion to this Bulbasaur, making sure it would be okay if he lost.

This would have made it harder to battle him all-out. It would have, if Brock hadn't been a Gym Leader. He often had to battle those he respected with full power. He didn't do them any favors by going easy on them. And so he didn't. And he wouldn't now.

"I agree to these terms. Your victory results in one healing at the Center and safety during the duration of your _visit_. If you stay for longer than a month, you will be considered to have moved here and your visit will no longer be valid," he warned.

Looking unconcerned, Vin nodded.

"My victory results in the return of the Bulbasaur and, furthermore, a forwarding of that Bulbasaur to a kind trainer. This does not mean that you will consent to the punishment for the law that you have broken."

Once again, Vin nodded.

"We begin," Brock said as he chose a Pokeball. Opening it, he released Granite, his Geodude.

And then he had a thought.

"Catch," he said as he tossed a Potion at Vin. Vin snatched at it, missed, and fell in an undignified manner. Fortunately, his friend caught the medicine before it hit the ground.

Which reminded him. "Incidentally, who is your friend here? She was not mentioned by Oak."

Vin pushed himself up. "Not sure. She won't stop following me."

The girl shrugged and handed him the Potion. And she spoke. "Why? Why help your opponent in this manner?"

"It is only fair," he said.

Vin released his Bulbasaur and sprayed him with the Potion. "Very generous of you," he told Brock without emotion. "Bulbasaur, use the Draining Pain strategy."

"Granite, you know the protocol," Brock told his Pokemon. Indeed, this strategy was the one that they used against every grass type Brock battled as a gym leader.

Granite began polishing herself rapidly, smoothing the lumps that resulted from being a rock. As she did so, the grim-faced Bulbasaur shot off a Leech Seed that took root in the rock Pokemon.

Brock raised an eyebrow. Surely this trainer knew that as a grass type, Bulbasaur could potentially knock out any rock/ground type in one hit.

Unless he didn't have any grass moves. Yes, that would explain this quite nicely.

Granite continued to polish herself, slightly faster than she had been previously. Vin rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a bottle that Brock recognized as being an X Speed. As he sprayed it on Bulbasaur, the grass Pokemon growled in a cute manner that interrupted Granite's polishing briefly; she had been somewhat surprised to hear that noise coming from such a no-nonsense Pokemon.

Hmm. Brock considered. Granite's attack had been lowered and Bulbasaur was moving somewhat more quickly than normal. However, with his secret anti-grass weapon, and with no grass moves from Bulbasaur, he clearly had the upper hand, unless Vin knew something he didn't.

"Keep it up, Granite."

She renewed her polishing, working to smooth over her lumps at a swifter rate than she had previously been able.

And Bulbasaur continued to growl.

After a few seconds, Brock concluded that Granite was as fast as she was ever going to get. "Fire Punch, Granite."

At speeds that were astonishing for a rock type, Granite barreled towards Bulbasaur, her right fist covered in flames.

Brock was surprised; his young opponent displayed no dismay over this attack. Brock had a reputation for having a face that gave little away, but this man had clearly mastered the poker face already.

Brock began to worry a little. Did Vin have a secret weapon of his own?

"Dodge left, Bulbasaur."

Evidently not.

Bulbasaur rolled to Vin's left, barely dodging the flaming strike.

"Now, Growl again."

As the grass Pokémon did so, Granite whirled and struck him with another Fire Punch. Although Bulbasaur had recoiled violently after being hit, Brock noted that his foe hadn't taken nearly as much damage as he might have liked. The Growls were doing their work.

"Power Whip, now!"

Granite had no chance at all to dodge the powerful hit from the vine. Brock recalled her before her momentum could carry her into the wall of a house.

"Clever," he complimented Vin. "Concealing your best move until she could not avoid it…you've been planning this for some time, haven't you?"

"I knew that I would face you eventually," the teen replied. "I studied you. I knew that you would not use your strongest against me because of your sense of honor. I knew that, to provide a proper challenge, you use Fire Punch and Thunderpunch to deter grass and water trainers. My plans are big enough that I could not afford to be surprised in this battle." He smiled, coldly. "And now that your Geodude is neutralized, there is nothing that can stop me from winning. Your Onix is strong, but big: an easy target for Power Whip. You know that Onix cannot remain battling after even one hit from that. You may as well forfeit and save your Onix some pain."

Extraordinary. Few trainers bothered to study their opponents this closely. Then again, few trainers had this much to lose when battling him.

Brock released Obsidian anyway. "I have no doubt that you will win this match. However, a Gym Leader never stops fighting, even when he knows he will lose. Dig, Obsidian."

With a mighty roar, Obsidian dove into the ground, dodging a Leech Seed that Vin had commanded too late.

Vin took advantage of the pause to spray Bulbasaur with another Potion.

"Did you steal that, too?" wondered the girl out loud.

"Bought it," he replied shortly. Brock didn't miss the tension between the two of them. Something to mention to Misty when he called to warn her that Vin was coming.

After several seconds, Obsidian resurfaced, ramming Bulbasaur hard enough to send him flying about fifteen feet away.

"Power Whip."

And with that, the battle was over. Obsidian cried out once and fell, shaking the ground.

Brock recalled his fainted rock snake. "As promised, one free trip to the Pokemon Center and safety for a month at most."

Vin nodded in acknowledgement, and then kneeled to address his Bulbasaur. "You did very well, Bulbasaur. Let's get you healed, shall we?"

And he stood and walked towards the Pokemon Center.

Brock flipped his phone open and dialed. 654-2555.

"This is the Pokemon Center, how may I help you?"

"This is Brock. You may remember that kid who stole that Bulbasaur…"

Vin saw Brock again at the Center while his Pokemon were being healed.

"You called them, I assume," he said, jerking his head towards the nervous-looking nurses.

"I did," agreed Brock. "I gave my word that you'd be safe. That includes safety from the PCPD."

Grunting, Vin stared at Brock. "Why are you here?"

"I have to heal my Pokemon," Brock replied. "They fainted, you may remember."

Was that a smirk on the Leader's face? Did he really think that was funny? "I remember," he said tonelessly. Brock might assume that his stoniness was just because he didn't want to show his amusement. He'd be wrong. There just wasn't any amusement there.

Reaching into his pocket, Brock rummaged for a moment before he found what he was looking for. A mildly triumphant smile on his face, the Gym Leader pulled out a badge and tossed it towards Vin.

He fumbled to catch it and managed, once again, to not catch it. Perhaps he would have been wise to have honed his coordination as well as his intellect.

Hiding a smile (it was well-hidden, but Vin knew it was there), the girl picked up the badge (déjà vu) and handed it to Vin.

Vin wasn't altogether surprised at receiving the badge. Brock respected good opponents, he knew, and the badges were, centuries ago, signs of respect from a powerful trainer. Brock remembered the old ways well. But he hadn't been certain that Brock would award a wanted criminal a badge. He wondered what he had done to deserve a badge in Brock's mind.

An instinct from his younger days caused Vin to give Brock a formal bow of respect for one who had done the recipient a service. "You honor me with your kindness, Brock of Pewter. I, Vincent of Fuchsia, accept your kind gift, and hope to do you an equivalent service one day."

Brock blinked, momentarily nonplussed. No matter. Pewters couldn't be expected to know Fuchsia customs. "You're welcome," the Leader eventually said.

Vin nodded. Best he could hope for from a Pewter. Making his way to the PC, Vin sat down and began typing furiously. Brock didn't follow. Vin assumed that he had gone to the front desk to heal his Pokemon.

"What are you doing?" asked the girl curiously as she tried to peer over his shoulder. Vin let her; the on-screen data was too complicated for most people to understand anyway.

He might as well give her the gist of it, though. No particular advantage to it, but he liked showing off occasionally.

"I'm disabling Bill's PC as it pertains to my Pokemon," he explained. "He won't receive any of my Pokemon if I catch more than six."

"But that's impossible!" Brock exclaimed; evidently he had wandered back over. "No one can do that!"

Vin turned to give Brock a cold, smug smile. "For _you_, perhaps. But _I_ am a genius." With that simple statement, he pushed the button and watched the words "Vincent's Account Disabled" flash onscreen.

_Route Three, 0539 hours, 01/15/2011_

They left early that morning, after having slept for about twelve hours. Vin hadn't explained why, but Toxa knew why without having to be told. No point in hanging around Pewter and giving the other Gym Leaders time to mobilize outside of Pewter, but at the same time, a good night's sleep in real beds would do wonders to refresh them.

Thus, sleep in the Pewter Pokemon Center one night and leave early the next morning.

Toxa couldn't help but wonder, however, if he had not told her of his plans on purpose. He certainly didn't like her at all.

No matter. It didn't matter if he liked her, just if he left her behind.

So why wasn't she convinced of that?

Right about then, several flashlights were lit from several places in the bushes. Both Toxa and Vin squinted against the unexpected light.

"Vincent Mark Smith, this is the PCPD! You are under arrest! Stand still with your hands up!"

"No," Vin said as he released his Pokemon. Bulbasaur looked around, grimacing at the number of policemen that had revealed themselves. Bloitch cackled with glee before she remembered that, as a Kakuna, she couldn't do all that much. Then she started sulking.

The policemen released their own Pokemon: mostly Geodude, but a few Onix were in the mix. There was even a Rhyhorn.

Vin grunted. "Pathetic. Simply pathetic. Bulbasaur, Whip them all."

Bulbasaur extended a vine and began lashing indiscriminately at the assorted Rock types. They fell quickly.

"Bloitch, cover him with Stringamablob."

By then, the police forces had begun a counterattack. Geodude threw rocks, Onix lunged forward in an attempt to use Bind, and the sole Rhyhorn charged, horn extended. Bulbasaur was the only target, for good reason.

Several attacks were blocked or slowed by Bloitch's blobs. Many Rock types fell before Bulbasaur's lashing vine.

But not all.

Rhyhorn connected, dealing decent damage to Bulbasaur. The Onix had all fainted, but several rocks crashed against Bulbasaur. Panting, Bulbasaur knocked out the Rhyhorn…

…and began to glow.

"Great. He evolves before I-." Before Bloitch could finish her grumble, she, too, began glowing.

The Rock types nearby cried out, shielding their eyes from the light. Toxa didn't blame them; she herself was squinting.

Honestly, she was astonished, although she didn't show it. A double evolution was extraordinarily rare. Then again, with Vin, unusual things happened all over the place.

She wondered what else she might see while she was with him.

The light died down somewhat as Bulbasaur stopped evolving. He was a full-fledged Ivysaur now. Those Rock types didn't stand a chance anymore, not with the increased speed, power, and durability the evolution had given their opponent.

Bloitch had stopped glowing now as well. She was a Beedrill now.

"Yeah-hah! FREE!"

And apparently very excited about it.

Bloitch began flying at the remaining Geodude, stabbing them with her stingers. She wasn't doing that much damage, but the attacks were distracting, which allowed for Bulbasaur…er, Ivysaur, to hit them without much resistance.

"Remember, Bloitch, hardheadedness will get you everywhere! And don't forget the cyanide!" yelled Vin.

What? What was that supposed to mean?

Either Bloitch hadn't heard him or she didn't know what Vin had meant either, because she continued to stab the Geodude as she had before. But Vin didn't repeat his instructions, so Toxa figured that he had gotten the message across.

So what had he said?

After a few seconds of thinking it over, she finally concluded that maybe he had told Bloitch to use Harden and Poison Sting. Maybe. She was fairly sure about the Harden, but the Poison Sting was conjecture through and through.

Regardless, the battle was over and the police knew it. The remaining Geodude were recalled and the police fled towards Pewter.

"Well done," Vin told his Pokemon as he sprayed Bulba…_Ivysaur!_...with a Potion. "Bulbasaur, you fought well, and Bloitch, you did very well, considering your opponents."

"Hah! Evolution ROCKS!" Bloitch shouted happily. "I can MOVE again!"

Toxa blinked. That was a bit out of the blue…

"I'm Ivysaur now, remember?" Bulb…_Ivysaur_ reminded Vin.

"Ahm." Vin bit his lip. Surprising, really. By now, she had figured out that little flustered Vin. So seeing even this small display of consternation was abnormal.

"You should just give him a nickname," Bloitch yawned. "That way, you only have to adjust once, rather than once for now and another for whatever his last form is."

"For once, you had a good idea, Bloitch," Ivysaur grudgingly acknowledged.

Vin considered for some time before he said, "Root."

Considering, Ivysaur tilted his head. "'Root'. Hmm…"

"I get it," she said. "Because you're his starter, and thus, the root of his team, without which he could not continue."

"Actually," Vin corrected her, "it's just because he's a Grass type."

She could feel the blood rushing to her face. "That too, I guess."

"I can work with Root," Ivysaur announced.

"Yippie-ki-yay," Bloitch said with obvious sarcasm.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Bloitch," Bul…Ivysau…_Root_, argh! Root told her in an unconcerned tone.

"Are you two going to bicker all day, or are you coming?" Vin told them. Without waiting for their answer, he began strolling towards the tall grass that lay nearby the great mountain that loomed ahead.

"We're coming!" Bloitch said as she zoomed to Vin's side. She and Ivy…Root (Gah! She hated name changes!) continued at a more sedate pace.

Mount Moon awaited them.

**You have been reading:**

**Stage Four: Evolution Brocks**


	5. Chapter 5

Route Three, 0635 hours, 01/15/2011

As the humans reckoned time, it wasn't even 7:00 and already she was having to try to stop her brother from doing something stupid.

"Come on, I can take her!" he yelled. "She's _bugging _me!"

"She's a Beedrill, Nidaro," she told him wearily. "Meaning that if we fought her together, we might win or we might lose. Either way, we'll be weakened and easy Ekans prey."

"Well, then, _find another way to stop her singing_!"

Privately, Nidara had to agree with her brother. The Beedrill was being irritating, flying around in loop-de-loops and other fancy maneuvers, singing, "This place is alive…with the sound of evolution…there's a Beedrill here…which was not befoooore!" Of course, being a bug, she couldn't sing to save her life.

Appparently, even her trainer (who looked surprisingly pale, for a human), was annoyed, for he was muttering, "Who taught her how to butcher _The Sound of Music_?" Whatever that meant. Of course, it couldn't have been the singing he objected to; after all, all he'd hear was buzzing. She actually kind of envied him for that.

"We could ask politely," she suggested. "That usually does the trick."

Nidaro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I can see us now, facing down an Ekans. 'Oh, good sir, would you please not eat us?' Yeah, like _that's _gonna work!"

With more patience in her voice than she actually felt, Nidara replied, "But we're not facing an Ekans. Beedrill might be an entirely different story. We won't know until we try."

"Won't know until you try what?"

Nidara jumped. She hadn't even noticed that the Beedrill had stopped singing.

Nidaro, on the other hand, was unfazed. "Asking you politely not to sing."

The bug looked puzzled. "What's wrong with singing?"

Nidara intervened quickly, before her brother could put his foot in his mouth. "He has sensitive ears. Singing of any kind irritates them."

The Beedrill looked sceptical. "Really?"

"Who are you talking to, Bloitch?" said the trainer, walking over to the Beedrill. With him was a black-haired girl and…what was that, anyway? It almost looked like a bigger Bulbasaur with a pink bulb. But of course, that was impossible. Bulbasaur were extinct.

Wait, why was she still here? She dashed into the undergrowth. Trainers were selfish, greedy, and cruel. Everyone knew that, except for the crazy ones who actually _volunteered_ to be trained. She couldn't take the chance that he'd capture her. She could only hope that Nidaro had the sense to get away, too.

It took two minutes of running and three minutes of waiting at the den for her to realize.

_The trainer had her brother_.

There was no other explanation. He ran faster than she did, and he never got lost.

_She had left him to his fate._

Hot tears stung her eyes. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_!

There was only one thing to do.

And so she ran for another two minutes to get to the trainer.

Gone.

Nononononononononononono…

Which way had they been going? She looked around, panicked. Towards the mountain or towards the city?

Choosing on a whim, she ran towards the mountain, wanting to hope for the best, but finding herself fearing the worst.

And then the rattle.

She knew what that meant. She ducked, letting the Ekans sail over her. That was their major design flaw: the rattle tended to make noise at inconvenient times. Perhaps other Pokemon couldn't catch it, but Nidoran had the ears for picking out even the faintest rattle.

The snake whirled around, staring her in the eye, Leering. Nidara began Growling to counter the effect.

But then…what? Her muscles…they weren't moving!

This had never happened before. Even as the Ekans Wrapped around her and began squeezing the air out of her lungs, she wondered: what had it done to her?

Perhaps…an Ekans migrated…other side…mountain…paralyzed…with…Glare…

**I'm sorry…Nidaro…**

And then she lost consciousness.

She was mildly surprised to find herself waking up.

She was even more surprised to find herself in a Pokeball.

**Oh, no…**

Things hadn't gotten any better. Some trainer had her! She'd never find Nidaro now!

The tears came again, worse than before. How could she have been so stupid? She had left her brother to certain doom. She had lost against an Ekans and gotten caught by a human.

The only consolation, if one could call it that, was that things could hardly get worse.

She had no idea how long she stayed there, alternately crying and trying to break the ball from the inside.

It was during one of the latter phases that she was released.

She had been about to use Scratch, and thus the Zubat that was immediately in front of her took the brunt of it. Crying out in pain, the bat fell, Nidara following its downward path. Briefly she wondered why it was so dark, and then she landed on the Zubat. On her feet in an instant, she whirled, attempting to get a look at her new trainer…

…and then…

"Nidaro?"

"Hey, sis," he grinned at her. "Glad you made it."

The next few moments were a blur to her, in more ways than one. Joyful tears blurred her vision, and joy itself blurred her memory and perception of events.

All of that was broken up when a human voice, in a tone that even Pokemon could recognize as sarcasm, said, "I see you two know each other."

It was no surprise to look up and see the pale trainer from before, accompanied by Beedrill and Bulbasaur-imposter, the girl, and…

"Yah!" She backed away several steps.

For coiled up at the trainer's feet was an Ekans. Not just any Ekans; the same one.

_The Ekans must have been his_.

"He found you two fighting," Nidaro said. "He saw you were losing, so he caught both of you. Even twisted the nurse's arm at the Pokemon Center to get you healed. Apparently humans mostly don't like him, so he took a big risk with that."

"Humans don't like him? For once, I agree with them," she growled.

"Ah, cummon, sis, he's not so bad. I actually volunteered to go with him…"

"_You WHAT!_"

Nidaro shrugged. "He had his Ivysaur-."

"His what?"

"That guy." He nodded at the Bulbasaur imposter. "His name is Root. Anyway, Root made me an offer in behalf of his trainer. I accepted."

"Of all the idiotic things-!" She couldn't speak. Rage, disbelief, fear; they had made an alliance and stolen her voice.

Nidaro looked genuinely puzzled. "What's so bad about that? He's a good guy."

"Says _him_!" she yelled, gesturing at the Bulbasaur-imposter. "His trainer probably made him say those things! Humans are selfish, and cruel, and _they can't be trusted_! You've seen those trainers! They beat up defenceless Pokemon and leave them to limp home, unprotected from predators! Or, even worse, they catch them and _make them do the same thing to other Pokemon_!"

"I don't do that."

She turned on the pale trainer. "You expect me to believe that? You humans are all the same! I can't believe my brother was stupid enough to trust you! …wait a second…you just responded to me. How…" She backed away, suddenly more scared than angry. Since the beginning of time, humans could not understand Pokemon. Pokemon could understand human speech, but the humans had no way of knowing what was said by Pokemon. It was the one thing she knew humans could not take for their own.

And now even that was taken from her.

"Translator on your neck," he waved. She felt her neck; indeed, there was something metal there. "But that's not the point. I only attack wild Pokemon to defend myself. If they attack me, I feel justified in defending myself to the fullest of my abilities. But otherwise…"

"Don't lie to me! That was your Ekans! You told it to lie in wait for me! That's why it's so much stronger than the Ekans around here!" she yelled, her anger returning. "And then you staged the rescue, to win my trust! Well, _I'm on to you_! You can't fool me!"

And then he said something that shocked her. And then did something that shocked her even more.

He said, "Go, then." And then he smashed her Pokeball.

She couldn't speak. Whenever she tried, nothing she said made sense. "Whuh? What…huh?"

"Go," he repeated. "I won't compel you. I promise you, your brother will be well-cared for regardless. If you truly hate humans that much, I won't make you be with me." If she didn't know better, she'd say his voice sounded…sad. "It's true. Many humans do these terrible things. So many humans are selfish, taking Pokemon with no regard to their feelings; greedy, catching more than they need; cruel, leaving free Pokemon defenceless to train their own. I don't. But, for good reason, you don't trust any human, even if he says he can be trusted. I will respect your choice. In fact, I will escort you back to your den if you wish."

She almost changed her mind. And then she remembered that her parents had perished because of humans, and her will firmed. "I can find my own way home, thank you very much."

He nodded. "I won't keep you, then. I do want to recruit that Zubat you accidentally attacked, so you may have a few moments to say goodbye to your brother. Don't leave until I can get the translator off of your neck. Believe me, you won't want it; many trainers would let a Zubat drain them dry to get a talking Pokemon." And with that, he was gone, his Pokemon following him.

"…you're sure about this, Sis?" Nidaro said. He was trying to keep a brave face, but she knew him too well for that.

Not exactly answering his question, she said, "I'm sorry I called you stupid." She hugged him, tears coming to her eyes once more. "I don't think I can bear living with the same species that killed Mom and Dad."

"If you'll pardon me for saying so, that's a stupid point of view," said the girl. "You're going to blame all humans for killing your parents? That's like saying that if a Growlithe rips a human's throat out, they're all vicious human-haters. You're generalizing from one bad experience."

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, trying to deny the truth of the human's words, but failing. "You…it's not just that. So many friends lost to humans…so many deaths…all of the slavery…your race has much to answer for."

"It does," the girl acknowledged. "But I'm trying to make up for it. So is Vin. The trainer that you were talking to, I mean; I don't think you caught his name. I can name more trainers that don't treat Pokemon like slaves, but like individuals, like people." She shrugged, though it was hard to see in the dark. "Don't come if you don't want to; I couldn't care less. But I can't let you hate the entire species just because many of us exploit you."

While Nidara struggled to find a way to dispute that, the girl continued, "My dad…well, he's not good at showing affection, he's gone on business a lot, and we've had some serious arguments in the past. But I still love him, and it still hurts when he's gone."

"Now, I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine it'd be one hundred times worse if _you_ leave your brother. Especially since you might not ever see him again." She shrugged. "Food for thought."

Vin came back then, his Pokemon trailing him and a Zubat fluttering at his shoulder, seemingly none the worse for wear. "Zubat has consented to travel with me. Time to go, Nidaro. And I want that transla-."

"I'm coming with you."

"-tor back…what?"

Her voice was subdued. "Mind you, I still don't like you. But I'm coming to keep an eye on my brother."

The trainer didn't look startled for long. "…what changed your mind?"

Nidara shrugged. "I'm not sure…but I think that maybe your girlfriend helped me see what my higher priorities should be."

"She is not my girlfriend."

"She's a girl, she's your friend. Seems reasonable to call her that."

"She's not even my friend."

"Really." She said it flatly. "You can't fool me on that. I'm female, and what's more, I'm not evolution-high like your Beedrill is or was. You may not want to admit it, but at the very least, _she _considers you a friend."

He tossed a Pokeball at her before she could say any more.

This time, her tenure in the ball (which lasted all of twenty seconds), was spent smirking.

"Not one word," he told her as he released her. "I don't need an analysis of my relationship with her."

"Of course you do. You're male, aren't you?" she smirked.

"Ball," he said, holding it up.

"Just like a man, too. Doesn't want to talk abou-." She was cut off by the beam of light returning her to her ball.

He could hear snickers from his team. Definitely Bloitch, maybe Nidaro and the Zubat. Probably not Bulbasau…Root, or the Ekans.

He didn't say anything. If it gave them any solidarity as a team, he'd permit it, even if it was because of jokes at his expense.

He released the Nidoran again. "Introduce yourself to the team. Don't hurt the Ekans unless he tries to eat you."

She remained silent for about half a minute; no doubt to show that she didn't intend to take orders from him. Then…

"I'm Nidara. And I heard that you're Root?"

"Yes. The Beedrill is Bloitch-."

"And don't you forget it!"

"The Ekans says his name is Ssaasso."

"Delicciouss…"

"Remember what Vin said, Ssaasso? You eat me or my sister, he eats you."

"…sspoilssportss…"

"And you know Nidaro, of course."

"What about you, Zubat?"

"Aaeeiieea!"

"What's wrong?"

"ThAAt IIs mYY nAAme, you IIdIIots!"

"Agh! Loud! Loud!"

"Well, she _is_ a Zubat…"

"Duh!"

"I thought I told you not to say that, Nidaro."

"Whatcha gonna do about it, Sis?"

"Tassty morsselss…"

Vin sighed. His team seemed to be able to turn anything into an argument. He hated to think what would happen when he recruited more of them…

His mind turned to the conversation between Nidara and the girl. He couldn't help but hear it; the echoes made it hard for him to have missed it.

He had suspected the situation with Nidara; there weren't many things that would make a Pokemon hate humans to that extent. But the girl…she had talked about herself for once. He would have to see if he could get anything more from her.

"Y'know, _Vincent_, if you don't want to go through the cave undetected, it helps not to figure out how to make your Pokemon talk."

"Gary. I wondered when I'd see your smirking face again," Vin said tonelessly.

"Technically, you can't see it. Not very well, anyway. We _are _in a cave," Nidaro said snarkily.

"This is a serious opponent, Nidaro," Bulba…Root scolded. "We can't afford levity right now."

Vin couldn't see Bloitch, but he was certain she had rolled her eyes. "According to you, we can _never _'afford levity'."

"Enough," Vin said. "Now is not the time to bicker."

Gary hopped down from a rock. "No doubt this touchy-feely strategy of yours has caused this disruptive behavior. If you want your Pokemon to be good battlers, you have to establish your authority firmly."

Nidara began growling. And not cutely.

"And besides, these Pokemon of yours! Only the Ivysaur is not at all pathetic; say what you will about Gramps, he has good taste in Pokemon. But a Beedrill? They're only dangerous in groups. And you catch only one? Pathetic. And the Nidorans! They're the standbys of cutesy girl trainers that aren't at all serious battlers! Zubat? Useless bloodsucker. Ekans? Not worth the space."

Now all of Vin's Pokemon were annoyed, except for Root. "Can I sting him?" Bloitch demanded.

"Am not usselessss…"

"Aaeeiieeaa wIIll hAAve hIIs blood for thIIs!"

Nidara and Nidaro didn't bother with words; they lunged at Gary in unison, stopped from attacking him only by a last-minute return to the ball. Vin sent them out again immediately, closing his eyes against the flash. "You may not attack him unless I say so! _Understood_?"

"Yup," Nidaro said a bit morosely.

"…fine," grumbled Nidara.

Vin turned to Gary. "The funny thing is, you're trying to make me mad enough to make stupid mistakes. But that, in itself, is a stupid mistake. I don't get mad when someone says things that both of us know is incorrect. Zubat evolves into Crobat, swift and powerful and certainly not useless. Ekans isn't the top predator for nothing, and it becomes more formidable when they evolve. Nidorans evolve into the powerful Nidoqueen and Nidoking, the only Poison/Ground types currently known. Beedrill is strong, swift, and can slow an opponent very well due to String Shot. Not only that, it is the only Kanto bug capable of using Harden, or indeed any Defence-raising attack."

"But where your mistake really comes in is this: the only ones you have enraged are my Pokemon, and they have all, save Nidara, agreed to obey my orders in battle, and even Nidara seems inclined to work with me. Thus, their anger will not affect decisions in battle; instead, it will merely increase their will to defeat you. You may as well leave me alone, because you've already lost this battle."

Gary smirked. "And now _you're_ trying to demoralize _me_. I know I'll win, because my training is superior. And then that Ivysaur is going back to Oak's lab, and those other Pokemon back to whoever you stole them from."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Why would he steal _them_? It's not as if they're hard to find like Bulbasaur. Your logic is faulty."

"Not helping," Vin scolded.

"Sorry."

Another burst of light ensued as Gary released his Pokemon. When the light cleared, a Squirtle, Pidgey, and Rattata stood in the cave, ready to battle.

"Nidara, Nidaro, Ssaasso, Aaeeiieeaa, stay off to the side. You'll get knocked out quickly otherwise. Bloitch, this will be a _hard_ battle, so make sure you make use of your _fury_. Root, Draining Pain. Both of you, the Pidgey is the big threat."

"That's what _you_ think! Pidgey, take on Beedrill, use Gust! Rattata, Flame Wheel on Bulbasaur!" Gary smiled viciously. "Squirtle, go take on the rest. They're weak, but they might provide long-distance support."

"Defend yourselves as best you can!" Vin yelled to the rest of his team. He didn't know their capabilities just yet, and as such couldn't give them a plan.

Root launched a Leech Seed at Pidgey that latched on just as he took off to attack Bloitch. Bloitch met the assault with a Fury Attack, stabbing Pidgey repeatedly. However, Pidgey flapped his wings, both using Gust on Bloitch and propelling himself away from her attack.

Bursting into flames, Rattata leapt into the air, curling into a ball and coming down on Root. Root winced from the flames.

"Bulbasaur, Sleep Powder!"

"Root, remember?"

A cloud of powder shot from Root's bulb, catching Rattata by surprise. The rodent began snoring as she lay on Ivysaur's bulb.

"Give it a Poisonpowder and a Leech Seed, then Whip it!"

Vin knew that Root would do as he said, so he turned his attention to Bloitch.

She wasn't doing well. The Pidgey had distance on his side and was putting that to good use. Any time Bloitch got close, a Gust would send her off course.

Yet Pidgey was tiring as well. The Leech Seed was doing its work.

He could do nothing there. He turned his attention to his remaining Pokemon.

To his surprise, they weren't doing so badly. Ssaasso was Wrapped around Squirtle while Biting him constantly, and Squirtle was showing signs of Paralysis and Confusion. The two Nidorans Scratched and Pecked Squirtle's exposed bits, while Aaeeiieeaa, surprisingly enough, used Quick Attack to land swift hits on the turtle.

Root cried out in pain. Vin turned to see that Rattata had awoken. Seriously weakened, she nevertheless managed to pull off another Flame Wheel.

And then she collapsed.

"Rattata! Get _up_, you useless thing! Argh!" With poor grace, Gary returned his Rattata.

"…help…"

Seeing Bloitch struggling even to hover, Vin quickly returned her. "Root, you'll have to take over for Bloitch while I heal her!" He sent her out again and sprayed two Potions on her. Then he stood, looking over at his more recent recruits.

The news wasn't good there. Squirtle had apparently used Withdraw to escape the brunt of Ssaasso's attacks and was firing Water Guns at whatever was in front of the opening in his shell. Since the other Pokemon were staying away from the opening, neither side could hit the other effectively. But, despite obvious weariness on Ssaasso's part and a few injuries on the others, none were knocked out.

"Bloitch, go help Bulb…Root," he said, spraying another Potion on her. She flew off to do so.

"Return, Ssaasso," he said, returning the snake to the ball and then releasing him once again to spray yet more Potions on him.

"How many of those things do you _have_?" the girl asked, astonished.

"Been buying them for four years. Quite a few." Ssaasso only needed two Potions this time. "Go get Squirtle again."

As the snake slithered off to do so, Gary began yelling. "Come on, Pidgey! You can take them! Stupid bird; can't even handle a bug and a bulb!"

Vin looked to see that, indeed, Pidgey was having difficulty flying, making it easier for Bloitch to swoop in with a Fury Attack or Root to swipe at him with a Vine Whip. The Leech Seed couldn't have helped matters for Pidgey, either.

He looked back at the group battling Squirtle. Somehow, Squirtle had landed a hit on the Nidorans; whether they were fainted or just winded, he couldn't tell. Aaeeiieeaa had latched on to Squirtle's neck, draining his energy, and Ssaasso was circling Squirtle, Biting him every so often. As Vin watched, Squirtle receded into his shell again.

"Pidgey, not you too!" As he returned his fainted Pidgey, Gary grumbled, "They're failing me again. I'm supposed to be strongest!"

Now, Vin could tell him that acting like that was not likely to make his Pokemon one whit stronger. But really, Gary had no reason to listen to him.

Besides, if he _had _been more supportive of his Pokemon, Vin might not be winning. So he kept his mouth shut.

"Root, would you be so kind as to show Squirtle your Power Trip?"

And that ended that. Because he was in his shell, Squirtle had no chance to dodge the Power Whip; being already weakened, he couldn't take the hit.

Gary had lost.

And he wasn't happy about it.

"Stupid, useless Pokemon!" he raged as he returned Squirtle. "Beaten by a bunch of ragtag rejects led by a thief!"

"If it makes you feel any better, this is the closest he's come to losing since I've seen him," smirked the girl.

"You be quiet!" he snapped. "Whoever you are." His eyes narrowed as he turned to glare at Vin. "I won't forget this," he said venomously.

Vin said nothing to Gary. "Good work, team. You were exceptional," he told them, ignoring his opponent. "Come on over here and let me heal you."

The team trudged over, tired but triumphant. Although Vin had to return the Nidorans to get them over there. Turned out, they weren't fainted, just weary. As Vin healed them, Gary stalked away, miffed both at losing and at not being taken seriously.

"Hah! That'll show _him_! Dangerous only in groups, my antenna!"

"Sstupid little human."

"EEE-hyee-hyee-hyee! Not so tough AAfter AAll!"

"Yeah-HAH! We rule!"

Even Root was grinning.

Nidara was the only one not celebrating. "There is no honor in this," she muttered. "The one who was our true opponent did nothing. All we did was defeat his slaves."

Vin knelt down to look the female Nidoran in the eye. "That's the system we live in. But that is exactly what I intend to change." He smiled slightly. "It's just going to be by a fairly circituous route." He held out a hand. "Truce?"

It was several seconds before paw grabbed hand and Nidara agreed, "Truce."

**You have been reading:**

**Stage Five: Once in a Blue Moon**


End file.
